Another book on Hockney
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:48 pmThere've probably been other reviews of Christopher Simon Syke's biography - David Hockney: A Rake's Progress, the Biography 1937-75 (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: 384 pp.) a projected two-volume work, but Christopher Knight's review in the L.A. Times caught my eye for its opening line -
To which my first thought was, Gee, even if we're only talking about the 50s generation (and not the 60s generation, with whom Hockney is generally identified) what happened to Peter Blake in these rankings? Old Pete must be getting on as well these days...
Anyway, the new Hockney book sounds quite interesting - since it covers the most interesting part of Hockney's career - the Royal College and Kasmin Galleries years into the late 60s. The Photo on the cover captures the artist in his classic Swingeing Sixties image, that also appeared in the famous Private View book by... was it David Bailey? One of those trendy 60s photographers anyway.
With the deaths last year of Lucian Freud and Richard Hamilton, David Hockney suddenly catapulted into position as England's leading painter.
To which my first thought was, Gee, even if we're only talking about the 50s generation (and not the 60s generation, with whom Hockney is generally identified) what happened to Peter Blake in these rankings? Old Pete must be getting on as well these days...
Anyway, the new Hockney book sounds quite interesting - since it covers the most interesting part of Hockney's career - the Royal College and Kasmin Galleries years into the late 60s. The Photo on the cover captures the artist in his classic Swingeing Sixties image, that also appeared in the famous Private View book by... was it David Bailey? One of those trendy 60s photographers anyway.
